“I’ll Book a Photoshoot When I Lose the Weight” — You’re Already Worthy as You Are

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I wonder if you’ve ever said this to yourself: “I’ll book a photoshoot when I lose ten pounds.” If you have, please know you are not alone. I hear this more often than almost any other hesitation. I understand why it feels so true. Our culture teaches you that you’re only allowed to celebrate yourself once you meet certain standards. Thinner. Younger. Fitter. As if you have to earn the right to be visible by becoming “better” than you are right now.

I believe you don’t need to wait to be worthy of being seen because it is your inherent right. It’s not about when you lose the weight, or when your skin clears, or when your body finally matches someone else’s version of beautiful. You deserve to exist in photos now, exactly as you are.

The mindset of “I’ll do it when…” is such a sneaky trap. On the surface, it sounds practical. Even motivating. But what it really does is keep self-acceptance at arm’s length. It quietly whispers that you have to earn visibility and become someone else before you’re allowed to take up space. Over time, that mindset doesn’t just delay a photoshoot—it starts to disconnect you from the truth of who you are. You look back on seasons of your life and realize there’s no evidence you were even there. And that absence goes so much deeper than how you look. It touches belonging and the story you tell yourself about whether you are enough.

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When someone tells me they’re waiting to lose weight before booking a session, I often ask, “What would it mean to do it now?” Usually there’s a long pause, and then something honest comes to the surface. I hear, “I’m afraid I won’t like how I look,” or, “I’m afraid I’ll be disappointed,” or, “I’m ashamed of my body,” or, “I’m scared to see myself the way I am right now.” These are not shallow fears. They are tender, vulnerable truths, and they deserve compassion, never judgment.

I know this because I’ve been there myself. I grew up with horrible body dysmorphia and spent years hating how I looked, convinced there was something unworthy about me. I understand how exhausting it feels to carry that belief. And I also know, from both sides of the camera, that it’s possible to begin seeing yourself differently.

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I think about my client Michael, who came in during a time when he was grappling with change. His hair was going from dark to gray faster than he expected, and he told me he didn’t really want to highlight that shift, but he trusted me to go with it. Later, he shared, “I was somewhat startled with the results, but now I see what others have pointed out. The photos are striking. Aaron’s photos allowed me to recognize and accept, and even gave me the freedom to play with this new look.” Michael’s story wasn’t really about hair. It was about letting go of the version of himself he thought he was supposed to be and stepping into the one who was already here, waiting to be honored with reverence instead of resistance.

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When photography is approached with intention, it can become a mirror for self-compassion. It can be a way of looking at yourself without flinching, without picking apart every detail, without wishing you were someone else. You might walk in worrying that all you’ll see are the parts you don’t like, and you might walk out seeing your own presence instead—steady, warm, and real. It’s always a little ironic how the thing you’re most nervous about—your body, your weight, the way you think you look—often becomes irrelevant when the photo reveals your spirit. That’s what I focus on. That’s what people respond to.

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I want to say this as gently as I can because I know how much courage it takes to consider this. You don’t have to love how you look to deserve to be seen. You don’t have to be in your “after” body or reach some imagined ideal. You don’t have to feel completely confident. You only have to be willing to show up. And that courage, the simple act of showing up exactly as you are, is what makes the most powerful portraits.

“You are imperfect, you are wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging.”

— Brené Brown

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Here’s something you might not have thought about. When you finally look back at old photos, it’s rarely your weight you notice. It’s your energy. The spark in your eyes. The time in your life that photograph represents. I don’t want you to rob your future self of those memories just because your current self feels unworthy.

When you come to my studio, you will never be asked to suck it in or fake a smile. Instead, we’ll slow down and connect. We’ll create space for you to breathe, to be, and to feel seen without having to perform. I’ll guide you with care. I’ll reflect back what I see—your presence. Not imperfections, but power. You don’t have to change before you can be witnessed. You only have to trust that being seen might change how you see yourself.ake it stand out

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If you’ve been putting off a photoshoot because you’re waiting for your body to change, I want to offer you a new possibility. Your worth is not conditional, and your visibility is not something you have to earn. Your beauty isn’t on pause, waiting for you to transform. The time to honor yourself isn’t “someday.” It’s now.

You deserve to be witnessed. You deserve to exist in photos. You deserve to take up space in the story of your own life.

Let’s do that together.

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You don’t have to be ready. You just have to begin.